Forgotten cityWhile no one can say yet with any authority who will emerge victorious from the special-election Democratic primary in December, most experts agree that that contest will completely overwhelm the Boston city elections of November 3.

The Senate race will dominate media coverage from here on. Turnout for the city elections will almost certainly be low, as will contributions to city candidates. Plus, veteran political observers say that the very lifeblood of campaigns — the people who work or volunteer for the candidates — will be siphoned away from city elections.

All of this figures to aid Tom Menino, rather than his attention-starved challengers in the mayoral race.

It should also help incumbent city councilors, most notably at-large councilors Stephen Murphy and John Connolly. One City Hall insider, who is a loyalist of one of those incumbents, says that his reaction to learning of the December 8 primary date was, "Thank you, Ted Kennedy, for protecting your Irish brothers."

To read the "Talking Politics" blog, go to thePhoenix.com/talkingpolitics. David S. Bernstein can be reached at dbernstein@phx.com.

Chaos Theory In less than two weeks, when Massachusetts voters elect Martha Coakley to the US Senate — let's not pretend that Republican state senator Scott Brown has any chance of pulling off the monumental upset — they will trigger a massive domino effect that has the state's political class buzzing with anticipation.

The X factor Martha Coakley should be plenty thankful for the holiday weekend. The polls suggest that, if nothing significant changes between now and the December 8 primary, she should handily claim the Democratic nomination for US Senate.

After Ted The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy early Wednesday morning brings to a close the life and legendary career of one of Massachusetts's greatest political figures.

How Brown won As the Massachusetts US Senate election unfolded yesterday, all that the pols and pundits wanted to talk about was how Martha Coakley managed to lose the race. And there is plenty there to dissect. But there is another part of the story, and that is how Scott Brown managed to win it.

Taking sides The stakes are high in the battle for Massachusetts’s first new US senatorship in a quarter-century.

Ready to rumble Last summer, the upcoming race that got most Bay State politicos salivating was the run for governor.

Brown-nosing and flip-flopping Two months ago, when Senator Scott Brown crossed party lines to help pass a jobs bill, the Phoenix noted the political convenience of that supposed show of independence — since other Republican senators were also voting with Democrats, Brown’s vote was unnecessary.

Massachusetts: You might be living in a red state if Scott Brown’s Senatorial victory is merely the latest sign that red tides are creeping upon our once-progressive Commonwealth. Don’t believe us? Consider that Kenny Chesney sells out Gillette Stadium every summer, and, of course, that wealthy Republican presidential hopeful with the fantastic hair was recently our Governor.

Murph’s Last Grasp? The ever-restless Stephen Murphy is at it again, running anew for state treasurer — just a few months after voters re-elected him to the Boston City Council.

Tea Party Progressives? When Democrat Peter Smulowitz celebrated his victory in the special-election primary for State Senate earlier this month in the back room of Masala Art restaurant in Needham, no bigwigs from his party were in attendance.

MRS. WARREN GOES TO WASHINGTON | March 21, 2013 Elizabeth Warren was the only senator on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, aside from the chair and ranking minority, to show up at last Thursday's hearing on indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

MARCH MADNESS | March 12, 2013 It's no surprise that the coming weekend's Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have become politically charged, given the extraordinary convergence of electoral events visiting South Boston.

LABOR'S LOVE LOST | March 08, 2013 Steve Lynch is winning back much of the union support that left him in 2009.

AFTER MARKEY, GET SET, GO | February 20, 2013 It's a matter of political decorum: when an officeholder is running for higher office, you wait until the election has been won before publicly coveting the resulting vacancy.